Home-Buying Frenzy Sets a Record as California Loses Its Grip on Hottest Markets

As the home-buying season enters its most frenetic period, the pace of sales set new records in May, according to an analysis of realtor.com® data for the month. That’s not all: Listing prices also continued to set records. However, in the end of a historic run, the majority of the hottest markets in the country are no longer in California.

“Our latest inventory data confirms we’re in the thick of the hottest home-buying season on record, as the pace of sales nationally has officially reached a seasonal and historical high,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com. “The frantic activity observed this month means homes are spending 32 fewer days on the market compared to six years ago, and 39 of the top 50 largest markets in the country are seeing the lowest days on market since we started tracking in 2012.”

The median listing price reached $297,000 in May, an increase of 8% over the previous May.

But while the supply of housing is still tight, there was a slightly larger than usual seasonal increase in inventory as owners sought to capture peak prices. About 557,000 new listings hit the market in May, 8% more than April and 2% more than May of the previous year.

The total inventory of homes for sale grew 6% over April, more than the 4% average increase in previous Mays going back to 2012.

So where is all this home-buying activity the hottest? As we do each month, we ranked the country’s top metro markets by how fast homes are sold and how many views listings get.

This month shows that California’s seemingly endless reign over the top 20 markets has, in fact, ended—at least for now. The Golden State claims only four markets on the list.

For the second month in a row, Midland, TX, tops the list. The oil town in West Texas has seen its fortunes rise lately.

Other standouts are Fort Wayne, IN, and Grand Rapids, MI, which leaped up 20 and 16 spots, respectively, since April.